Lead Like Chet: Make The Most Of The Recovery

Geoff Loftus
, ContributorI write about leadership in history, pop culture and business.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

On Dec. 17, 1941, 10 days after a devastating Japanese sneak attack, the wrecked battleships of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet were bleeding oil into the waters of Pearl Harbor, and Adm. Chester "Chet" Nimitz started his new job as commander in chief, Pacific.

It's impossible to imagine that any CEO has ever faced a tougher challenge: The keystone to the Navy's strategy, its battleships, had been destroyed at a stroke. It was as if a company had lost a plant that was crucial to all of its plans. Worse yet, the human tragedy had cost Nimitz almost 3,000 skilled sailors, with countless more wounded and unable to perform.

On the other side of the competitive equation was the Japanese Navy, riding a long string of victories that would continue for the first few months of Nimitz's tenure. The day after their success at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese scored another victory with their bombing of the Philippines, wiping out airfields and naval bases there. Shortly thereafter, they would bomb and sink Britain's two best warships.

The Japanese had battleships, including the Yamato, the largest ever built, and well-trained, experienced forces with a track record of success. They were the world leaders in naval aviation warfare, as demonstrated by their accomplishments at Pearl Harbor and the Philippines.

On the other hand, the Americans had no battleships, very little experience and immense casualties. But Nimitz didn't have the option of declaring bankruptcy or breaking up his company and selling off the pieces. He had to compete with the Japanese, no matter what.

With all these factors working against him, what did Nimitz do to lead the Pacific Fleet to recovery?

He was flexible. Nimitz accepted the reality that post-Pearl Harbor, naval aviation was the sine qua non of naval warfare. He didn't waste time looking at the past and wondering how to get his battleships into action. Nimitz had aircraft carriers and he deployed them.

He got the Navy moving, immediately. Adm. William Halsey was dispatched with his task force centered on the carrier USS Enterprise. Although Halsey's actions amounted to nuisance raids and did no real damage to the Japanese, they galvanized the fleet and the press coverage raised spirits back home. (Nimitz was aware that his shareholders, the American public, needed good news.)

He used his head and trusted his instincts. Navy intelligence had cracked a small portion of Japanese code and said that there were a few fragments of information that might, just might, indicate the Japanese were going to attack at Midway Island. It was the sketchiest of evidence, but Nimitz looked at a map and thought that if he were the Japanese commander, he would attack in that exact location. Nimitz trusted his intuition and decided to meet the Japanese head-on.

He took calculated risks. Nimitz didn't have the fleet resources or the experienced manpower to square off against the Japanese. But, if his intelligence team was correct, he would have the advantage of surprise at Midway--and that would give him the opportunity to turn the entire course of the war in the Pacific. Nimitz took the risk.

He trusted his people. Nimitz demonstrated this in three significant ways: 1) Most of the pilots aboard the American carriers were so young they barely shaved. They had little experience when compared to their Japanese counterparts. But Nimitz believed in them and sent them out to do the job at Midway. 2) The carrier Yorktown limped back to Pearl Harbor after being damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Pearl's yardmaster told Nimitz it would take months to refit the carrier. Nimitz gave him 72 hours. Yorktown sailed on time and provided crucial firepower at Midway. 3) Halsey, Nimitz's most experienced admiral, was hospitalized and couldn't sail. Nimitz asked Halsey to suggest his own replacement, and Halsey, without hesitation said Ray Spruance was the man for the job. Spruance was junior to many admirals and had no carrier experience. But Halsey insisted he was the best man for the job, and Nimitz trusted Halsey, and by extension, Spruance. It was a fantastic choice: Spruance became the most successful combat admiral in the U.S. Navy's history.

Only six months after the disaster at Pearl Harbor, Nimitz gambled all three carriers that he had, sending them out with their inexperienced crews and their inexperienced admiral. The Americans out-thought and out-fought the Japanese every step of the way at Midway and won the most important naval battle of the war. Japan had never known defeat before, and never recovered, while the U.S. Navy never lost another engagement in the Pacific.

Nimitz turned the Navy around in six months. While the economy is lurching into recovery, your organization might not be poised to make such a dramatic comeback, but it doesn't mean the Nimitz analogy isn't valuable to you. Let's look at the moves that can set you up for a success recovery:

Be flexible. Nimitz inherited a Navy without battleships. So he forgot about battleships and successfully shifted to a carrier strategy. OK, this is a case of making lemonade out of lemons, but at Midway it was really great lemonade. If for years your company made most of its money by selling a heavy duty widget called the Big Boy, but the recession forced you to close that plant and sell the machinery, you'll just have to make money by selling all the other kinds of widgets you make.

Take action quickly. Don't just sit there moaning--do something. This would be a good time to trot out the old bromides about "low-hanging fruit." Figure out how you can pick up some quick profits and grab them. Maybe drop your prices to a longtime customer as a way to say thank you and increase your volume. Remember, these are not the kind of successes that will turn your company around, but they'll give everyone a sense that you're moving in the right direction.

Think. There is no substitute for brain power. The accumulated knowledge, experience and wisdom of the executive team you belong to are probably immense. Tap into it. Nimitz looked at a map and trusted his intuition about what his opponent would do. Look at the competitive map of your market and do the same.

Take calculated risks. Nimitz believed that the element of surprise would outweigh the superior muscle of the Japanese at Midway. If he was wrong, the war in the Pacific could have ended in a draw--which would have been a strategic victory for the Japanese. But Nimitz believed it was a risk worth taking. If you have a new strategy or product or service that could be a game changer, take the risk.

Trust your people. Nimitz trusted his sailors and young aviators, as inexperienced as they were. He believed that the yardmaster could fix the Yorktown in 72 hours, and he was right. He trusted Halsey's advice and put his faith in Ray Spruance, unleashing the greatest combat admiral of the entire war. The people who are still with your company at this point in the economy deserve your trust. Believe in them and watch them produce.

Chester Nimitz's leadership of the U.S. Navy from the aftermath of Pearl Harbor to the triumph of Midway demonstrates three important things for all managers looking to turnaround their companies: Don't panic, take risks and trust your people.